


Face the Ravens

by Twisted_Fate_MK2



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adventure, Angst but I Suck at Angst, Hurt, M/M, Mourning, Professional Huntsman, Qrow is Bad at Feelings, Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24971305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twisted_Fate_MK2/pseuds/Twisted_Fate_MK2
Summary: Qrow Branwen was, and had been, a lot of things. Lover, leaver, fighter, raider, part time bird, Huntsman. Mourner, too, on occasion. And unlike a lot of things, he never quite got good at that last one. Flying was hard, and so was fighting. Mourning, though? Processing? Moving on? Well, a guy can't be good at everything.
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

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Official Supporters: 

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Adeptus, Private Wilger

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Initiates, Greg Gibson, Espa Cole

If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : https://discord.gg/2UZncAm

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I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.

Beta(s) :

XxX----XxX----XxX

Koi was a simple, small but not quite tiny little thing when he reached it, circling lazily high overhead to get a literal bird’s eye view of the place. It was pretty typical for a little harbor town, everything considered. 

The bay was deep but slight, the coastline only just curving to form the barest hint of a crescent bay. A single large, reinforced and very professionally built dock stuck straight out from a little cluster of warehouses and fish-packing buildings that had been built in the center of the coastline’s curve, to give as much access to the water for the boats as possible. 

Around them were houses, stacked high and close all the way out to the thick, stone wall that enclosed the little settlement. A small town hall had been built on the opposite side of the warehouses and factories, complete with a little fountain plaza. And hey, a tiny little Air-Dock had even been built across from the town hall.

Swanky.

The little town was Kingdom commissioned, like so many other small harbor settlements that dotted the southern coasts of Anima. All of them had been built with nice, top-of-the-line, for ten years ago anyway, fish factories to support the town. And warehouses to support the trade coming in from Menagerie, which was why the towns had been built at all. 

All in line with Mistral's then new doctrine of ‘decentralised supply chains for trade and resource’, of course. Or, the way he preferred it, ‘make tiny, cheap towns and that make our money even if a few get attacked’. 

It was always impressively depressing the way big shipping industries would risk people for more regular trade…

‘Eyes on the job, Qrow.’ He reminded himself, turning onto a new updraft and shaking his tiny, feathered head. ‘Oz didn’t send you out here to gripe about politics.’

The town looked fine, though, all things considered. Old and run down, but only in the normal sorts of ways. Old buildings, old, worn ships on the dock, and even a few proper Menagerie ships going about their business. He even spotted a proper Mistrali ship lazing about in the water, turning to leave on a military patrol.

Summer kept telling him how useful being a ‘part time’ bird was, and as usual, she was right. Getting a look at the place like this was useful. Even if he didn’t see much of anything off about the town, circling high overhead.

Out of paranoia, and so he could say he’d checked them if Oz asked, he turned down and swept along the tops of the docked ships. The fishermen shouted and threw tins at him, but only when he neared the fish. The shipping liner ignored him completely, though, even when he landed on the guard-rails and squawked at the workers. 

Nothing but normal, as far as he could see. 

‘Guess on I’ll have to get down and look around on foot…’ He sighed, flapping out to see until he found another heat-based updraft to carry him up, towards the clouds. ‘Figures. Just when the weather was getting nice for flying, gotta land to walk around like the rest of the plebs. Ah well, maybe I can find an excuse later.’

The little town had a handful of gates built along its perimeter so he circled north to find a landing place near enough to the road to make his way in.

“Name and papers, please.” A tired looking guard in the barest hint of padded armor asked him an hour later when he finally reached the check-in desk beside the gate. 

“Branwen.” He answered, handing the little plastic cards the man would need over the little kiosk’s desk. “Qrow Branwen. I’m a Huntsman, you see.”

“A Huntsman?” The man tipped his broad sunhat up and back to meet his eyes, and then smiled when Qrow nodded. “Thank the Dust itself,” the man sighed, shaking his head and offering the little plastic cards back to him, “I was hoping they’d hire someone.”

“Just passin’ through. I wasn’t hired.” At least by anyone he was talking about. Checking over his shoulder that there wasn’t a line, which there wasn’t, he leaned on the kiosk’s counter and asked, “Why would they need to hire a Huntsman, though? Grimm?”

“If only.” The man sighed, shaking his head and easing back in the cheap little wooden chair. The only piece of furniture in the otherwise empty, mostly closed up little booth. “Been a line o’ settlements raided up and down the coast by a big bandit tribe. The Branwen tribe, last I heard. Assuming there’s no relation?”

“None at all.” The lie was an old, familiar one, and he delivered it well. Spend enough time working Mistral and someone was bound to make the connection and ask after all. “Worried about gettin’ hit?”

“We all are.” He nodded, sighing, “Would like some better gear than a padded shirt and an old piece of ass rifle, but…”

“Life.” The Huntsman shrugged, fishing out a hundred Lien card and setting it down for him. The guard gave it a confused look and then him, and he explained, “Got some questions, and you got a need for better gear. Mind tradin’?”

“Depends…”

“It’s nothin’ that you’ll mind trading.” He assured the man, giving him the practiced, easy smile Summer had helped him practice. “Just ‘bout Grimm, passersby, the big names around here. Useful, perfectly legal, stuff.”

“...Union boss that runs the shipping in ‘n out is Mister Grey, lives in the main warehouse. Has a little apartment in it and that’s where he stays.” The guard answered quietly, taking and pocketing the money quickly. As if he was afraid Qrow would stop him and shout for other guards. When he didn’t, the man went on, “Mayor Wilguy is, well, the mayor. Lookin’ for work, he pays. Him and Captain Brass, he leads the town guard.”

“Mhm.” He already knew all that thanks to Oz, but he played like he was noting it anyways for the look of it. “Any kinda information brokers you know of?”

“Informations…?”

“Yeah, like, gettin’ dirt on people, findin’ people, that sort of thing.” The man grimaced at the question and, looking to either side and finding the only other guards nearby busy checking the trucks coming and going through the road portion of the gate, which seemed to get vastly more traffic, he fished out another hundred Lien. Setting it down gently, he explained, “I’m lookin’ for someone. Young lady, barely eighteen, told her folks she was datin’ a Faunus. Didn’t go over well.”

“I imagine that went badly…”

“Yeah. They tried to elope, Faunus kid got shot, shit wasn’t pretty. Not by her parents,” he added when the man’s eyes widened, “was a gang. Little pack o’ thugs, back in the city scammed ‘em and got the guy. Can’t say which, privacy ‘n all. But the folks just want their daughter back, or to at least know she’s alright.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“Mhm. Tragic, that.” It was pretty common for people to run and hide in backwaters, so he didn’t need to explain why he was looking there. And given how close Menagerie was, he doubted the man would mind someone who’d dated a Faunus getting help, Human or not. “So, I’m lookin’ for her. Information brokers might have some info to go on.”

“Guards might too.” The man offered quietly, tapping his desk again. Sighing like it was some horrible tax on him, he fished out another hundred and laid it down. Pocketing it the man asked, “Got a picture? A name?”

“Naomi Frost.” Qrow answered, tugging the old picture Ozpin had given him out of his coat pocket and handing it to him. “She’s got a Semblance you mighta noticed. Elemental, flares up if she feels anxious or upset. Kinda short, young.”

“Saw her about a week back, yeah. Came through my check-in early, she’d been waiting on the gate opening up so i remember it.” The man nodded, giving him a suddenly wary look. “She seemed shook up, but fine to me. Stayed a few days and then left.”

“Headed…?” The man’s eyes narrowed more and Qrow growled, pulling out five hundred more Lien and slamming them down on the kiosk desk. The man’s eyes widened at the amount, now over half a year’s salary, and Qrow growled, grateful for the good luck “I need to find her, she’s in danger. People are after her.”

“She was headed north, along the coastline.” The man murmured, taking the Lien quickly and stuffing it in his pocket. “The Branwen Tribe has been raiding down it, towards us, but she didn’t care. I don’t know why.”

“I do.” Because of him, damn it. Dropping another hundred Lien on the desk he grunted, quietly, We didn’t meet.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice…”

Turning, he jogged back up the road, headed towards the trees so that he could change back into his bird form and head north. She was far enough ahead of him that he couldn’t try tracking her and expect any good to come from it. It would be easier to find the Tribe itself and wait for her to show up rather than track the Maiden herself, anyways. Still, it took half an hour before he got anywhere he felt safe to shift in.

But it was only noon, so he had time to look for Raven. And besides, the sun still felt so nice on his feathers. He was lucky that the weather had stayed nice enough to fly.

He even had the wind at his back.

Four hours of flying, mainly spent gliding on the good winds, passed in peace and quiet. The sun was beginning to set and it was getting dark, enough he almost turned to look for a good spot to sleep. Human form or bird form he didn’t mind either way, sleep was sleep. And however the magic that Ozpin used to let him shift his form worked, it meant that eating and sleeping worked in either body.

Which was kind of handy, if he ever felt pinched for Lien and needed a bite.

At the last second, though, a drifting cloud back-lit several thin, nearly translucent smoke pillars. He’d have recognized it anywhere, the tell-tale sign of a camp of a good number of people that wanted to stay hidden. And with the raids going on along the coast, there should only be one group like that in the region. Not wanting to be outed as the bird man that he was, he landed a mile out, facing the smoke trails so he’d keep his bearings, and started the long walk to the camp.

Somehow, he was lucky enough not to run into anything, be it patrols or Grimm, as he made his way. 

Soon, he could see the hastily assembled palisade that marked a Branwen camp out. The flag was even there, streaming above the camp when he ventured close enough to the wall to see above the camp. Backing away, into the tree-line, he started circling around to look for the gate so he could ‘present himself’ in a way that, at least hopefully, wouldn’t get him shot at or anything.

Hard to manage with a group of killers and thieves, but worth trying at least.

A quiet vibrating in his coat pocket tugged him to a stop before he ever got to find the gate, though. Fishing it out, he flicked it open to check who could possibly be calling him right now and grimaced. ‘Tai? But he never calls me… It’s always Summer, because he and I argue too much.’

But, if he was calling, that meant that something was probably going on. 

So, he flicked the little ‘take call’ button and held it up to his ear, leaning against a tree so he was less likely to be seen. “Tai,” he grunted, “lemme guess, you got someone pregnant-”

“Qrow…” The man answered quietly and weakly, as if his voice was bordering on breaking just by trying to speak. It was so similar to how he’d sounded after Raven left that Qrow physically felt his snark be sucked away, like dust into a vacuum. “Qrow,” the man went on, “where are you right now?”

“Southern Mistral.” He answered, “Working.”

“For Ozpin…?”

“Yeah, for Oz.” He spent most of his time working for Ozpin, nowadays. “Tai, what’s going on?”

“It’s Summer, she-” The man’s words died in a whine, like he wa sin pain, and Qrow felt his heart starting to race. “S-She went on a job, f-for Oz she said. Out to Vacuo. But she didn’t- Qrow, Shade sent us her- Her cloak.”

“Her… Cloak…?”

“It was all they said they could recover…” The man sobbed, dropping the Scroll judging from the loud thud that echoed through the call and screeched in his ears. Distantly, he could hear the man muttering, brokenly, “Qrow, I need you, please- The girls- I can’t do it, I can’t do it- She looks like her and I-”

“I’m on my way.” He growled, ending the call and launching into a sprint. He could hear shouts of alarm as he ran and birds scattered, startled by his presence and speed. When he found the gate, a handful had come out to meet whoever was there and he raised his voice, shouting, “I am Qrow Branwen! I need to speak with my sister!”

“You can wait right here, then.” One man said, face more scar than face. At his nod he turned and vanished through the closing gate, leaving him to wait.

After a few minutes the woman showed herself, sword on her hip, eyes narrow and half a dozen tribe members behind her. “What do you want, Qrow?”

“A portal to Tai.” The woman opened her mouth to argue and he took a step towards her, bellowing, “Summer is dead, Rae, I need to be there! Give me a damn portal, alright?”

“Summer is…” For the first moment in their entire life, he saw Raven Branwen stagger as the words hit her and sank in. After a moment, she managed to school her face if not her voice, “Fine, I’ll… I’ll open you a portal, but that’s it. That’s… I have work here, right now.”

“Fine.” He didn’t expect anything more, after all. Instead he waved his hands at her impatiently, “Come on, then, Rae. I need to be there now.”

“Right.” She nodded, stepping forward, drawing a sword she used to cut him a shortcut from Mistral to Patch behind her. He wasted no time brushing by towards it, until she grabbed his arm and tugged him to a stop. “I, uh- The funeral. Will you let me know when… When I need to make time?”

‘Leave it to her to make it sound like a chore…’ He sighed, “I will.”

Through the portal he found Tai, in his room and curled up in the corner with a bottle of whiskey by him and Summer’s cloak on the little twin. Torn and bloodied, with a gash right through where her back would have been. It was enough of a sight in and of itself to rob him of his breath and make him choke around the knot that sprung to life in his throat. Still, he managed to choke down a breath and go over to the man.

Sitting with him, he took the bottle and unscrewed it, asking, “Got a glass for me?”

“Top drawer.” The man murmured, “There’s- She was going to give it to you, as a-a present.”

“Yeah, ‘bout that time o’ year.” He chuckled, pulling the drawer he’d point out open and finding the little box in there. 

It was broken on one side, nestled amongst his socks and clearly shoved in there to hide it from the kids. But he pulled it out and opened it up anyways. Taking the elegant little silver flask from it he sighed, unscrewing the cap and filling it up and sitting on the bed. 

Tai gave him a look and, silently, they shared a drink.

XxX----XxX----XxX

So, this story is a bit of a test bed for a concept. Qrow, and written from the angle of well-executed Hunts against the grimm later on, starting here. Right after Summer’s death. Already I’m hinting at things, part of the more thorough planning I’m putting in, so I look forward to if anyone catches a lot of it. This story will also undergo major jumps in time, which I will be clear to mark using probably Ruby and Yang or other elements.

But, for now, a test bed. One I look forward to hearing responses to.

Stay Twisted, my friends.


	2. Paperwork

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Official Supporters: 

Priests, The Impossible Muffin, Xager the Chaos King. 

Adeptus, Private Wilger

Ze Nope Rope, Kaiser Snek, Snekiest Snek

Acolytes, DigiDemonLord, Cheeseberry

If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : https://discord.gg/2UZncAm

Second link here, remove ( and ) and it SHOULD work : D(i)scord(.)gg(slash)kfhkfUb

I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.

Beta(s) :

XxX----XxX----XxX

“They didn’t even find her body, Qrow…”

“I know, Tai...” He sighed, giving the man across the kitchen table a look. “I know.”

The man was exhausted, clearly, with limp hair, pale skin and baggy eyes. In one hand he held a pen, to sign whatever Qrow gave him. The other held a cup of coffee that had long since run cold, mixed with enough whiskey that by now it was probably more alcohol than caffeine. But he was out of bed, and showered, and Qrow was thankful for that.

Even if Tai had only done that much because he made him it was still progress.

“We shouldn’t be doing this without a body. O-Or some kind of proof she’s gone.” The blonde argued, giving him a desperate, almost pleading look. Quietly, desperately, he almost begged, “S-Summer might still be out there, Qrow. We should be out-”

“Tai.” Hearing him say his name brought the exhausted blonde to a stop mid-sentence, and earned a sigh from him, “I get it, Tai. I miss her too, but… She’s gone. And no amount of runnin’ around lookin’ for her is gonna change that.”

“You don’t know that.” Tai argued hotly, stammering on weakly and looking to the door that let out behind the house, “S-She could be hurt, Qrow. We’re sitting here wasting time when we ought to be out there, looking-”

“Tai, you know that all we’d do out there in our condition is get the Grimm.” He growled, standing in case the man tried to head for the door. He was fast, but so was Tai, and if he decided to bolt for the woods outside on some bent to look for Summer… “Oz had his best trackers looking for her, Tai. If they didn’t-”

“His best trackers?” The man scoffed, “You were in Mistral!”

“Looking for Spring!” He argued, headache already starting to thrum in the back of his head. “I was doing my job, Tai!”

“Like I give a rat’s ass about Oz’s bullshit, Qrow!” The blonde snapped, standing and hurling his half-full mug at the wall. Shoulders heaving he pointed a long finger at him and went on, “If you’d been with her, maybe this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Oh so this is my fault?” He asked, staring up at the man but staying in his seat. And trying to remember that tai was hurting, while he was at it. “Where were you then, Tai? Not with Summer, I can tell you that much!”

And there went that...

“I was here with our girls, Qrow!” The blonde snarled back, slamming a fist down and into the old table hard enough to make the old wood groan. “While you were gallivanting off on Oz’s dirty fucking business, I was taking care of Ruby and Yang! Of our family Qrow! Or did you forget all about them, running off like Rae?”

“I am not like Rae, Tai!” He screamed, standing so abruptly his chair fell back, clattering against the kitchen floor. “I’m here! With you! Every Lien I have is going into this house right now, keeping shit stable for the girls! Paying for the funeral!”

“It’s not about money, Qrow!”

“No it isn’t but I ain’t just giving you money!” He screamed back, grabbing a fistful of paperwork and throwing it at the blonde. 

The slightly crumpled paperwork smacked into the man's face with about as much force as one would expect but Brothers did it feel good to do it. Which was novel feeling for him, at the moment. 

“I’m here, Tai!” He snapped out, voice cracking a bit as the fight started to die in him. Picking his chair back up and falling into it he sighed, leaning his elbows on the table and then resting his forehead against his knuckles, “With you, Tai! I’m here with you.”

“I… I know, Qrow, I...” The blonde man sighed, falling into his own seat and letting out a shaky, exhausted breath, “I-I’m sorry… It’s all just so much, you know? I just...” Choking, the man met his gaze and then looked away, “Ruby asked when her mom would be home last night, and… I-I didn’t know what to say, and she looks just like her, and-”

“Hey, hey.” Qrow was on his feet before he knew it, and around the table. Tai let him pull him into a hug, the brawler wrapping his arms around his stomach and burying his face in his shirt, and Qrow sighed, “Just take a breath, Tai, ‘n calm down. Okay?”

“Yeah.” The man answered, turning his head to speak. “It’s just so hard, but… You know already, I guess. Fuck knows I’ve said it enough.”

“You lost someone important to you, Tai.” Qrow answered quietly, hesitating for a moment, anxiously, before running his fingers through his hair. He’d seen Summer do it a few times, and it always calmed him down. It seemed to work now, too, the man sighing while he talked, “Just gotta get the papers done so the stone gets carved. You know how Summer always talked, if she ever died…”

“Yeah.” The blonde sniffed, “Somewhere up high, with a view-”

“-so I can always look down on it and you.” Qrow finished for him, laughing quietly and letting the other man go. Kneeling to start gathering up the scattered papers, he said, “Summer always was a bit of a poet, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah.” Tai nodded, pushing back his chair to help him, “You remember she always had that little notebook on her, right?”

“Yeah.” Qrow nodded, straightening out a crumpled form, “Used to spend hours on hunts, sometimes, just… Just drawin’ scenery and writin’ her little poems.”

“I remember she made you and Rae pose for her, sometimes.” Tai laughed, stepping around him to pick up some paper towels and go to clean the mess he’d made. Qrow rolled his eyes while he set the papers back on the table but, somehow, Tai seemed to know, even with his back turned, “Don’t roll your eyes at me or you get to do the dishes tonight and tomorrow, Branwen.”

“As if I won’t anyway?”

“Maybe not tonight.” He turned, one brow raised, and Tai explained, “If you don’t mind, could you go pick the girls up? I’ll… Finish the arrangement papers, while you’re out.”

“O’course, Tai.” He nodded, grimacing, “If you’re, you know... Sure you can handle it by yourself, I mean.”

“I… Think I can.” He sighed, leaning against the stained wall, cleaning spray in one hand and bunched up paper towels in the other. After a moment, and quietly, he explained, “I just… Ruby looks so much like her, and sometimes I can’t deal with it. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah.” Especially when she was happy, or eating, Ruby looked like Summer with shorter hair and lankier arms and legs. More than enough to upset Tai, as unfair as that was. “I’ll go get ‘em. Maybe stop in somewhere for something nice to eat, try ‘n cheer ‘em up.”

“Yeah.” Tai nodded, kneeling to clean, “They’d… Like that, I think.”

“Know any good places?”

“Karma’s.” He answered quickly, explaining, “Little buffet place, near the docks. Pizza, sweets, you name it. The girls love it.”

“I’ll bet.” Yang loved pizza, and Ruby lived for sweets. It wasn’t a replacement for their mom, but…

Well, it’d at least let them forget about it all for a bit.

“Take some extra Lien from my wallet, by the door.” Tai added as Qrow turned to leave. “Karma’s is next to a little arcade. Figure the girls could use a night to just… Have fun, and forget about it all.”

“Yeah.” he didn’t fancy his Semblance in an arcade, of all things, but… The girls came first. Waving a hand as he stepped through the door to leave he called back, “See ya when I get back, Tai. And eat something!”

“Yeah, I will.” Tai called back, “Try not to make anything explode in the arcade!”

Heh.

Bastard. 

XxX----XxX----XxX

Short ‘n sweet side update for a short ‘n sweet side story. Hope you liked it! Writing Qrow is a new experience for me. Note, he’s not his grizzled older self just yet, so adjust expectations ever so slightly if you please.

XxX----XxX----XxX

Heavenly Review (Guest) :

Technically speaking, we don’t know there is an afterlife. Ozma is the only resurrected character we know of and he outright asks to be sent back to the afterlife to spend time with someone that isn’t dead. This implies that he has no recollection of it, so there is no reason to necessarily assume that Ozma went to an afterlife. Or even that the Ozma that Light sets to reincarnate is the same that died.

Is just a fascinating theory talk point.

Shadow of Hitokirir :

Good news! I plan to continue it.

Guardian Artemis :

Glad you like it!


	3. Cliff-side Chats

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Official Supporters: 

Priests, The Impossible Muffin, Xager the Chaos King. 

Adeptus, Private Wilger

Ze Nope Rope, Kaiser Snek, Snekiest Snek

Acolytes, DigiDemonLord, Cheeseberry

If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : https://discord.gg/2UZncAm

Second link here, remove ( and ) and it SHOULD work : D(i)scord(.)gg(slash)kfhkfUb

I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.

Beta(s) :

XxX----XxX----XxX

For most people, at least ones whose last names weren’t ‘Schnee’, securing land to be buried in, or even just to have a stone put in, was hard or pointless. 

Space was too precious for the former, with land better used for housing and industry, or just farms, rather than cemeteries. And for the latter, most settlements just didn’t last long enough to bother. They’d be destroyed, by Grimm, disaster, bandits or bureaucracy, before they ever built up a proper cemetery.

That was, outside the ‘Mini Kingdoms’, where towns and cities could be built in spots that had all the natural protections of the Kingdoms themselves. Albeit on a much smaller scale. Ansel, Argus, Patch in a way, even if it was a bit more wild and open than the first two, there were plenty of examples.

But even they didn’t tend towards having cemeteries. Which, as a Mistralian, he always found… Weird.

But then Mistral did have a lot more space inside its wide walls and towering mountains for mausoleums and the like. They weren’t quite cemeteries in the ancient Valean sense of things but hey, they existed.

Summer always said ‘Cultures are like cakes. There’s plenty of flavors out there, and none of them are wrong even if they aren’t for you.’

Being a Branwen bastard, he respectfully disagreed.

Whatever the case, Patch was fronted on many of its sides by high, sheer cliffs with wide open views of the ocean around the island. None of them had nearly enough money to buy even a small patch of the land, barely usable as most of it was since the high cliffs had a habit of falling off now and again.

But unlike most people, they had Ozpin on their side, and he did not mind doing Qrow a favor. Even if Ozpin wanted something in return...

“You shouldn’t have signed that contract with him.” Tai murmured as they watched the few friends that either had invited to the ceremony settle in, talking quietly amongst themselves. “You know he’s the type that’ll eke every little thing out of it he can, Qrow.”

“We needed the money for Summer to get her spot.” He shrugged, “Ozpin offered to let me work it out.”

“Still…” Tai sighed, leaning against the tree beside him while the handful of people they’d invited to the ceremony milled about, chatting and laughing stiffly.

Near the cliff, he spotted Glynda hovering, alternating between looking off its edge at the frothing waters below and the girls playing lethargically nearby. Ozpin was with her, of course, watching the ocean pensively with his cane in front of him as always. He’d been watching the girls, earlier, along with Glynda.

A quiet, flaming glare from Tai had ended that pretty quickly.

“It’s fine, Tai.” Qrow assured the man, bumping his hand against the blonde’s and chuckling when Tai folded his muscled arms over his chest. “Would’a been workin’ for him more often ‘n not anyway, so why not make it official? ‘Specially for something like this.”

“I’d rather you not being working for him…”

“I know, Tai.” He sighed, giving the exhausted blonde a sidelong glance, “But if they had something to do with Summer, I’m going to find them. And put them down.”

“Hellfire or high water?”

“You know it, partner. For Summer.” He held up a fist and, after a heartbeat, Tai knocked his own into it. 

“Make ‘em hurt.”

“For Sum?” He snorted, shaking his head and folding his arms the same way Tai did. “I’ll take on the big bad bitch herself if I find her ‘n find out she was the one that took her from us, Tai.”

“If you can beat her…”

“Oh I will.” He laughed, shaking his head wrly, “Knowin’ my luck she’d trip and break her neck or somethin’. Eh, Tai?”

“Just be careful, Qrow.” The man murmured quietly, meeting his eyes for a moment before he flicked his gaze to the girls. “For the girls and for me, Qrow. I lost my wife, they lost their mom. Yang for the second time. I can’t… I won’t lose my brother, too.”

“Mhm.” As always, he buried that little spike in his side, brushing it aside. Instead, he promised, “I won’t be stupid ‘bout it, Tai. Branwen bond.”

“Aren’t the Branwens all bandits?”

“Hey now, blondie.” He scoffed in faux offense, giving the man a bright smile, “Have you met me? I’m as far from a bandit as a guy can get, really.”

“Given how much of my food you steal every day?” Tai laughed, the sound weak and dry. Forced, obviously. Pushing off the tree, he chuckled, “I’d say you live right up to the name, Branwen.”

“Suck a dick!”

“You offering?”

“Couldn’t pay me enough.” Qrow laughed weakly, waving him off, “Go on now, blondie. You got a speech to give, and I need to make space before everybody groups up on the edge of a really high cliff.”

“You can stay, you know. It’d be just fine if you did.” Tai argued quietly after a step, turning to meet his eyes. Qrow grimaced but the blonde pressed on, ignoring the face he made, “Most everyone here is a Huntsman or a Huntress, Qrow. And, hell, Goodwitch is here. Her Semblance is basically magic, she can deal with any problems you cause.”

For a moment, he considered going.

But then he thought of how the man had said that, the problems he caused, and settled back against the tree.

“Nah, Tai.” He grumbled quietly, “Safer for everyone if I make space and watch from a ways off. S’about fifty feet, here to the seats, so should be fine.”

“Qrow-”

“I said no, damn it, Tai.” He snapped, hissing the words and sighing when the blonde man flinched. Feeling the guilt spike in his chest, along with other emotions he’d not dealt with yet, he sighed and shook his head, “Just… Go deal with the funeral, Tai. I ain’t goin’ over there and you know why.”

“...Fine.” The man growled, turning and trudging away, “Brood then.”

Qrow only sighed, pushing off the tree and rounding it to find a place to sit. He found one quick enough, on a log just a bit back into the treeline. There was a large enough space in front of it he could see everything going on but, shaded by the leaves overhead, he knew people wouldn’t see him. Which meant that no one would see him lurking and come to see him for whatever reason.

Which was perfect…

“You can come out now, Rae.” He grumbled, pulling his new, freshly filled silver flask out for a long sip. She didn’t while he drank and he sighed, “I told you when this was, I know you’re there, and I will call Tai back if you don’t-”

“Don’t you dare or I vanish, Qrow.” The woman said from behind him, stepping over his log and plopping down. 

She was wearing her normal clothes, albeit with a black bandanna on her arm and no sword on her waist. She didn’t need it, though. Not a soul in the Tribe would try a damn thing against someone wearing a grieving marker like that. It was taboo and, in a tribe like theirs, anything that could become taboo was something to be respected.

For once, he agreed with the Tribe, as nasty as that just felt to think about.

“Normally, this is where someone would say it’s good to see you…” Qrow murmured, giving the woman a pointed look, both brows raised, as he took a long, languid drink from his flask. 

“Fuck you.” She growled, shaking her head and ignoring his snort of amusement. Yanking a little black box from a pouch she shoved it into him and growled, quietly, “Incense from a temple in Mistral. For Summer.”

“Did you-”

“I bought it.” She cut him off before he could ask the obvious, though he sened little heat in it. Instead he only read amusement as she explained, “Traded a contract of protection to a small caravan outfit out of Menagerie. Poor people, wouldn’t last a month without some strong arms. Basically working for charity, too.”

“Summer would be so proud at you for string arming poor Faunus.” She scowled that time, at least, and he sighed, waving her off and setting the box aside, “I’ll burn it and say a prayer tonight, after everyone leaves.”

“Yeah?”

“Once the girls are in bed I can flap up here.” He said quietly, shrugging and watching Tai give his speech about Summer, and how much they would all miss her. 

It was pretty beige, honestly, but Ozpin had told him most of this was about acceptance and moving on. No one really needed to be moved to emotion at a funeral, after all. Communal grieving, so they could all get on with their lives.

It was already kind of on the tin, after all.

“However you wanna do it, not my problem.” Raven nodded and then shrugged, resting a foot on the log under her and hugging her leg against her chest, “As long as it’s dealt with, I’ll rest easy enough.”

“For a bandit, you’re pretty spiritual.”

“The Tribe visits the shrines to the war gods whenever we pass them, to pay tribute. Like always.” She shrugged simply, her voice quiet and her eyes locked on Tai while he spoke, the girls hugging either of hise sides. “He doesn’t know I’m here, right?”

“No.” He grunted, taking a quick sip from his flask and setting it aside, “He probably should but… Dumbass, backstabbing, bandit bastard that I am, he doesn’t know.”

“Good.”

“No, it ain’t.” He growled, shaking his flask meaningfully, “And I’m through just about enough o’ this to do the right thing instead of the easy one, too.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Dunno if I would or if I wouldn’t, really. It’s been a shit couple o’ weeks.” He shrugged, smirking at his wide eyed sister, as angry as she was afraid. Which was a unique enough look to surprise him and, after a moment, make him sigh. “I ain’t gonna say anything, Rae. Stop having a heart attack and relax.”

“Bastard…”

“Pretty sure we knew our parents.” He grunted, “Pretty sure they killed each other, too.”

“Way of the Tribe.” She murmured, relieved that he’d dropped the threat, empty as it had been. Quietly, she asked, “Talking about ways… How is tai going to take care of the girls?”

“You care?” Her glare was the only answer he got and for it he sighed, shrugging, “Tai said something about gettin’ work at Signal, and hunting on the side. The animal kind and the Grimm kind, way he was talkin’, and mostly around Patch. Bring in the extra Lien to get by and get the girls a good life.”

“Can he do it?”

“Shit, no he can’t.” Qrow laughed, covering his mouth to avoid any of the Faunus he saw hearing him. Shaking his head and sighing, he went on, “But… He’s gonna try. I’m gonna help him, workin’ Hunts and for Oz.”

“I suppose Ozpin hasn’t offered to help?” His silence was answer enough and Raven scoffed, “Of course. All these years fighting his war, and he won’t even take care of her family when she’s gone. Bastard…”

“Yeah, well, you can bitch when you’re doing literally anything at all to help your daughter.” Raven met his glare and he returned it, growling, “Tai is raisin’ our girls all alone now, Rae. Bein’ near ‘em is dangerous for me, but I’m going to help him.”

“We both know the girls aren’t the only reason you're so invested here, Qrow.” She accused quietly, smiling when Qrow flinched at the words. The smile faded fast, though, as she turned back to the ceremony and fished in a pocket. “Not much,” she grumbled, shoving a fistful of old Lien cards at him, “but it’ll help a bit. I’ll save up what I can and you can… Swing by for it.”

“I’ll swing by when I can.” He grumbled, yanking the Lien away from her and hiding his growl in his flask. Quietly, he added, “Low blow, Rae.”

“Yeah, I know.” She murmured, “I’m… I’m sorry, Qrow.”

An apology from Raven Branwen was about as rare as a talking Grimm in his experience. Pissed as he was at her he could still see how much she was putting out there, with that. Mark of Mourning or not, in the tribe something like that would have her name in people’s heads for plenty of the wrong kinds of reasons. Or, well, the wrong kinds in the opinion of a bandit tribe at least.

And besides, she was offering to help them, at least a little bit. So…

“Fuck it ‘n forget it, Rae.” He growled, “You’re good at that, so it should be pretty easy for you.”

“I deserved that…” She sighed, standing and pulling a knife from behind her waist. It was fine looking, with a bronze handle and a red, Dust imbued blade. One she could imbue her Aura into so she could use her Semblance. Bouncing it in her hand she watched Tai end his speech and turn around, pulling the cloth off the headstone, “I’d better get going. Before he comes looking for you.”

“Stay.” Qrow pleaded quietly, giving her a pleading look, head cocked to the side, “Tai might not wanna see you, but Yang… She could use a hug from her mother, Rae. And I can explain why you’re here, that you only-”

“Qrow.” She sighed, shaking her head and turning a sad look on the girls as they slammed into Tai’s knees, hugging him tightly. “I’m no one’s mother anymore. And I won’t hurt Yang more by showing up just to vanish again.”

“Then don’t vanish…”

“It’s not that easy.” He opened his mouth to argue and she rounded on him, glaring, “Leave it alone, Qrow. I’ve already agreed to help, and I’ll keep an eye on them with my Semblance, too. But…”

Whatever else she wanted to say she let die, sighing tiredly as her furious expression gave way to something more… Pain filled. Resigned, even. It was hard to describe it, really, but Raven’s face contorted in a mask of emotions that Qrow couldn’t read before they vanished entirely, hidden under her unusual mask of forced confidence.

“Take care of your-” She blinked and then smiled, thinly, “Take care of our family, Qrow. Come to me if you need me, or if they,” she bobbed her head towards the family now being fawned over by their friends and comrades, “need anything. I’ll do what I can.”

“Thanks, Rae.” He nodded, turning a meaningful look on her knife and adding, quietly, “Thought those wearing the Mark couldn’t carry weapons.”

“An exception, due to need. And besides,” she brought the knife down and across her bare arm, leaving behind red skin but not a cut, “it’s not a good weapon if it can’t cut.”

“It’s blunted.”

“It is.” She nodded, smiling ruefully, “It was made years ago, in case I ever needed the Mark but also my Semblance. Our parents were true Tribals-”

“Bastards you mean.”

“-but that didn’t mean they were any less clever than those civilized by society.” She went on, unperturbed by his interruption. “This is the only thing they left me after they- Shit!”

She spun on a heel and cut down with the knife, her portal opening up as she leapt through. It crackled away and, behind where she’d stood, Ozpin smiled and chuckled quietly. Dressed in a black suit with, Qrow could tell, Dust woven into it, he nonetheless sat on the log beside Qrow and mused, “So, she did come.”

“Yep.” He nodded, holding up a hand.

“My bad luck I suppose.” Ozpin murmured, dropping a few hundred Lien into it. Qrow tucked it away with what raven had left him with on top of the incense box, secured by the ribbon that held the box closed, and Ozpin mused, “She brought tribute?”

“Nah.” He grunted, explaining, “The Lien’s for the girls, incense is for Summer. I’ll head up here tonight, once everyone’s settled, to burn it and say a prayer.”

“Would you care if I joined you?”

“Sorry, Oz, but no can do.” Qrow answered quietly, shooting the old man a genuinely apologetic look. “Incense ‘n prayer are from Rae. It would be insulting, to the god of war, Rae and Summer, to let you be there when the offerer wouldn’t have invited you.”

“Fair enough.” Surprisingly, Ozpin reached into his suit’s jacket and pulled out a long piece of linen, handing it to Qrow. “I brought a few incense sticks too. I know Summer came to believe in Raven’s gods, after a fashion, and felt that if she came she would bring incense. Please, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“I don’t.” He nodded, “S’not an insult to offer for two people.”

“Four, actually.” Ozpin corrected him, “Myself, Glynda, Peter and Bartholomew all wished to honor her in her ways. Why, Bartholomew almost brought a fine steak to give you to burn as well, until he was told Summer worshipped Laliana, not Bishamon.”

“Yeah, good thing he got that sorted.” Laliana was associated with vegetarianism, after all, so burning steak for her would be… Bad. “Could’a not told him, though. A nice steak wouldn’t have gone amiss down at the house.”

“Stealing offerings to the gods?” Ozpin chided playfully, “For shame, Qrow. For shame. Why, if you keep on, you’ll bring a pox of bad luck down on your house.”

“Bite me.” Qrow sighed, taking another draught from his flask and sighing contentedly, “Take it this ain’t just a social thing, though?”

“I’m afraid not.” Ozpin answered soberly, “I got word this morning. A man has gone missing in Mistral recently. A serial killer, whose vanishing is quite… Strange.”

“How you mean?”

“I’ll forward you all the information once James can sneak me the files.” Ozpin answered, giving him a sidelong glance, “Assuming, that is, that you do not mind helping me so soon? I assure you when we made our agreement, I didn’t know-”

“S’fine, Oz.” He cut the man off, smiling, “I gave you my word and it’s good. I’ll be ready day after tomorrow, and I mean that morning, so get me what I need and don’t stress about it.”

Ozpin only nodded and stood to leave, leaving Qrow to drink far enough away from everyone to be safe. Taking a long drink from the flask, Qrow sighed. It was a bit lonely, but… Well, there were worse things than drinking in the shade and keeping an eye on the people he loved.

XxX----XxX----XxX

That MF Law (Guest) :

That’s spoilers but, for now, I will say…

‘Yes’.


End file.
